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"The Spirit Realm is a vast and magical place, but the greatest of all its wonders is the Sea God's city. Some say the Sea God is a very old man. Some say he's a man in his prime, tall as a tree with a beard as black as slate. And others believe he might even be a dragon himself, made of wind and water. But whatever form the Sea God takes, the gods and spirits of the realm obey him, for he is the god of gods, and ruler of them all."

Have you ever read a book that you loved so much and you wanted to live in forever and you need sequels because you're never ready to say goodbye to these characters? Because same. 😭 The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a gorgeously written fantasy full of lively atmosphere and creative world building. The author creates such a lush setting that it feels as if you're reading the work of a decades seasoned writer, but with the talent that makes such writing accessible to fantasy readers of all levels. The book opens with a bang, and I was pleasantly surprised that Oh wastes no time getting things moving; basically all of the synopsis happens within the first chapter, which was a pleasant surprise!

Once our main character volunteers to be that year's Sea God bride, Mina enters the Spirit Realm and discovers the red string of fate, which is believed to connect a person to their destiny. We meet quite a few characters in the first 20% of the book, but it doesn't feel confusing; in fact, this form of storytelling was the perfect blend of world building without info dumping, as the author alternates between Mina discovering things as she progresses in the Spirit Realm and flashbacks to conversations with her grandmother in her hometown.

There's a bit of a mystery going forward, as we discover the Sea God is not in the state expected, and Mina joins a group of 3 men who she knows little about in trying to free the Sea God from a curse. Can she trust them? She really has no choice, as she only has one month before she will lose her soul forever and be detained in the Spirit Realm with no chance of returning to humanity if she doesn't.

"You claim the gods should love and care for humans. I disagree. I don't think love can be bought or earned or even prayed for. It must be freely given."

There's a bit of action and adventure, a bit of love, both romantic and platonic, and strong themes of found family that totally turned my heart to mush. Most of the big twists, I'll admit I did see coming, but it only added to my love of the story, more of a cheerful confirmation than anything feeling spoiled or let down. This story was 100% the escape I needed while reading, and I found myself lost within the pages of this story and the creative world that the author brought forward. It's been awhile since I've felt so engrossed in books that have made me not only continue thinking of them long after I finish reading them, but also immediately wanting to reread them once I turned the last page, and somehow I've found two such books this month!

If you're looking for a YA fantasy with mature writing, ease of readability, and a page length that won't keep you tied up for months or years (definitely no door stop here!), you need this gorgeous book in your life.